Plus EV Blog

Over the last few years, the world’s fifth largest country has been experiencing incredible economic growth. Though things have slowed down recently, Brazil’s boom that’s brought a host of middle class comforts, like Internet access, to a population that’s readily embraced them.

Brazil’s success story helped the country nab a sporting coup; both the 2014 World Cup Soccer Tournament and the 2016 Summer Olympics.
All this growth is great news for gambling affiliates who are looking to grab a piece of one of the last remaining, truly untapped iGaming markets. If you’re thinking about taking a run at Brazil, here are a few facts you’ll want to consider.

iGaming & Brazilian Law

Internet gambling is currently legal under Brazilian law, despite some serious opposition from government officials. Attempts to ban online gambling outright failed in both 2008 and 2010 and it’s unlikely that a ban will occur anytime soon, thanks to emergence of banking giant, Caixa Econômica Federal.

Caixa runs the Brazilian National Lottery and is very interested in expanding their offerings to include sports betting. And given the giant events heading their way, that’s no surprise. As of 2012, offshore gambling sites are currently permitted to serve the Brazilian market.

Mobile Phone and Internet Penetration in Brazil

Despite the poverty that still grips much of the nation, Brazilians have are avid Internet users. As of summer 2012, a full 42% of the country’s 205 million citizens had web access of some kind.
Brazilians have also embraced cell phone and smart phones as a viable alternative to the country’s telecommunications infrastructure. Currently, around 87% of Brazilians are cell phone subscribers and around 12% of those are smartphone users.
While 12% smartphone penetration may sound low to Americans and Europeans, it’s quite high for the region and is double what it was last year at this time. In short, affiliates who are looking for a mobile market that’s ready to explode should start learning Portuguese.

Internet Gambling in South America

Despite a history of technology and gaming that goes back thousands of years, most forms of sports betting haven’t really taken off in South America, yet. A lot of that had to do with widespread poverty and the far reaching influence of the Roman Catholic Church, but things are definitely changing.
A recent report from Research and Markets suggests that the Latin American online gambling market could expand to around $150 billion annually over the next decade or so. There’s no question that the future of igaming in the Western Hemisphere is going to be centered around Brazil.

Regulation of Brazilian iGaming in the Future

Currently, the only legal forms of gaming in Brazil are the lottery, horseracing and live poker tournaments. Offshore gambling sites have operated in the country as well, but the 2014 Internet Bill of Rights recently gave the government the ability to block such sites. Now, if they legalize online gambling, the Brazilian government will be able to capitalize on the activity.
Brazil is closing in on reforms that would legalize and regulate online gambling throughout the South American nation. Bill 186/2014 would not only carve out a legal iGaming market, but also legalize casinos in Brazil for the first time since 1946.

The Senate Commission for Regional Development and Tourism ratified the bill last week, and the House of Representatives is already taking a look at the legislation now. The House is likely to approve Bill 186/2014, given that they already approved similar legislation in July.

The only thing that prevented the previous bill from being legalized was a veto from President Dilma Rouseff. However, President Rouseff was acting on suggestions from the Ministry of Finance, which said they wouldn’t have time to regulate online gambling.

However, it’s worth mentioning that the last bill needed “a more comprehensive regulation, to ensure greater legal and economic security to the sport, adequate levels of fraud control and tax evasion.” Bill 186 is believed to have simpler framework that will allow the Ministry of Finance to regulate iGaming quicker.

Cries for online gambling have only grown louder in recent times because Brazil has experienced its worse economic period in 25 years. Things have gotten so bad that Moody’s financial service has declared Brazilian stocks to be “junk status.”

President Rouseff previously seemed indifferent to the matter of iGaming. However, the recent economic crisis has pushed her to be more proactive about the subject.

These lofty predictions might not be so far off when one considers that Brazil has 200 million residents – 70 million of which are smartphone users. Studies also estimate that around 8 million Brazilians gamble at offshore online casinos and poker sites.